REVIEW:
Materialists had all the makings of a good movie…a charming, likeable cast, a fun premise, even an upbeat light-hearted romantic comedy tone the likes of which we don’t really get anymore (at least not in theaters.) But this one did come out in theaters, and did appear like it might have a smart agenda. Why else would all of these talented stars sign on? Turns out, it didn’t.
The premise is about an online dating consultant. A match maker. Think of her like the female Hitch. Only unlike that movie, where the story of Hitch’s clients (one client in particular,) was as important as the story of Hitch himself, and his own romantic interest, here the story of Lucy (Dakota Johnson,) is very different. She only has one client who gets the slightest bit of a story, and with that client, the movie does rye bare minimum.
This is a problem because the clients story is by far the most interesting part of the movie. She goes out on a date with a man who gets physical with her, in the wrong kind of way, to the point where she presses charges against the company. Only get this… we don’t get to see any of it. All we do is hear about it. And later, when the same guy shows up at her apartment and harasses her, we don’t get to see any of that either. It’s the weirdest thing. The movie literally takes what would have been the most interesting parts and just tells us about them instead of showing us them.
So that’s what the movie doesn’t do. That’s what it’s not about. What is it about then? It’s about Lucy’s dating life. How she dates one guy who is perfect in every way, including rich, charismatic, and good looking. Only Lucy’s not in love with him. Instead, she’s in love with a poor rebel guy who has multiple roommates, and is pursuing art and acting. The character arc is as thin as can be. It’s all in the title. Does she continue to be a materialist and only care about looks and money or does she care about love?
There is one interesting idea in this movie, involving a surgery that some people get. It involves breaking one’s legs in order to gain about six inches in height. It’s a Black Mirror-like creepy idea, and it’s pretty cool. The movie treats it as a nice twist as well. But that’s it. That’s the only thing really interesting in this one. If only there was more creativity like that, more uniquely weird ideas mixed in throughout this movie, it could have been much better.